The Pen has been producing plenty of speckled trout for anglers who fish both the south and north ends. (Photo by Todd Masson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

One of the hottest spots in the Lafitte area right now is practically in the small community's backyard. The area known as the Pen, just to the east of the Barataria Waterway, is loaded with speckled trout this fall, and they should stick around throughout the early winter.

Because of its proximity and productivity, the Pen can get really crowded on the weekend, but during the week, Capt. Lane Zimmer will often start his day there.

"What you need to do when you get in the Pen is figure out which way the wind is blowing," he said. "If it's a south wind, you're going to want to stick to the south side of the Pen.

"Last year, they had a big dredge come through there, so now they have a 16-foot-deep hole in there.

"What you do is fish the ledge of that hole, where it comes up from 16 feet to about 4 feet."

Finding the ledge is easy with a depth finder, but most days there's also another clue.

"The birds have been working right along that edge," Zimmer said.

The hole is on the south side of the Pen, but it's not the only place to locate fish.

"If it's blowing out of the north or northeast, go to the northern end, where there was a bunch of grass before the storm," Zimmer advised. "Isaac tore it up, but there are still fish holding in that area.

"You'll still find clean water with that north wind blowing."

Zimmer has also been finding fish in Bayou Rigolettes, to the west of the Barataria Waterway.

"As long as the wind's not hard out of the northwest, and you can get on that eastern shoreline of Bayou Rigolettes, you'll catch fish," he said. "There's been a lot of fish up against the rocks."